2013 in Korea

Events

January

• January 1 - North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un makes a rare New Year broadcast, calling for an improved economy and a reunified Korea.
• January 25 - North Korea threatens to take "strong physical countermeasures" if South Korea co-operates with new United Nations Security Council resolutions against it.
• January 31 - South Korean media reports claim that North Korea has been placed under martial law with another nuclear test considered to be imminent.

  February

• February 12 - North Korea confirms that it has successfully tested a nuclear device, claiming that it is small enough to be weaponized. The South Korean officials report that an "artificial earthquake" has occurred in North Korea suggesting that a nuclear test has occurred.
• February 19 - North Korea threatens the "final destruction" of South Korea during a United Nations conference on disarmament.

  March

• March 5 - The UN Security Council holds a closed-door session to discuss new sanctions against North Korea following reports of an agreement on a draft resolution between the United States and China. North Korea announces plans to nullify the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
• March 8 - North Korea ends all peace pacts with South Korea and closes the main Panmunjom border crossing inside the Korean Demilitarized Zone. North Korean generals affirm they are aiming their long range missiles at the U.S. mainland in retaliation for the recently approved U.N. sanctions.